Rain or Shine
by CookieK2
Summary: Sometimes it´s just too hard to stay together. And you have to bear the consequences of the separation. GSR
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don´t own CSI or any of it´s characters, they belong to CBS or Anthony Zuicker or whoever and I don´t own "the parent trap" either I just borrowed the idea of the plot for this, but it originally belongs to Erich Kästner. And last but not least,I don´t own the song Rain or Shine, that one belongs to Vonda Shepard.

A/N: While I was watching "the parent trap" a few days ago this idea popped into my head and this is what came out of it. This is going to be a GS-story as I´m a total GS shipper.

I took the name Hailey for on of the children not because something similar is used in the Disney Movie with Lindsay Lohan but because I just love the name.

Thank a lot to vikki138 who beta-d this for me. All mistakes are mine! And thanks for reading and (hopefully) reviewing!

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**Rain or Shine**

_There is a reason, we came together Rain or Shine I´ll love you all my life – Vonda Shepard Rain or Shine_

Prologue

„Gil, we can´t keep doing this."

"I know." He slumped into an armchair defeated. They´d done it again. And the only reason they´d stopped was because the twins had woken up. Their screams had muffled their own, leaving them shocked at their capacity for so much anger. They had forgotten about their sleeping children.

Now Grissom sat, Hailey in his arms while Sara tried to calm down Katie by walking through the living room.

"I don´t want them to grow up like this," she whispered when both their daughters had calmed down enough for him to hear her.

"Neither do I." He admitted, sighing deeply.

They hadn´t intended for her to get pregnant so early in their relationship. To be honest, Grissom had never really intended to have children at all and neither did Sara. It didn´t mean they didn´t love the twins with all their heart, but the pregnancy and the birth of them had destroyed all their plans. And their fairly new relationship suffered because of it.

Sara didn´t know how to deal with all of this: her mood swings, the pregnancy itself...she had changed a lot and Grissom didn´t seem to be able to catch up with her. He himself had changed, but not the way she´d hoped he would. He excluded her again, leaving her feeling alone with all of the changes and the fighting had begun almost immediately after they´d found they would have not one baby but two.

Sara sat down on the couch, careful not to wake the now sleeping Katie. Tears began to gather in her eyes. The sadness always set in after the anger, but she realised it all had to stop now. She didn´t want her children to grow up like she did, with parents fighting all the time and them feeling like they were the cause of it.

"I am going to leave." Her voice was still quiet but loud enough for Gil to hear her and lift his head in surprise.

"Sara we can..."

"Work this out? No Gil, we can´t. You know that as much as I do. We have tried, it doesn´t work. I don´t want them to have to suffer because of us. I need to leave." Another tear slipped out of her eye, but she didn´t bother to wipe it away.

"Where´ll you go?"

"I don´t know, away from you, that´s for sure."

"And the kids..."

"I don´t know, we need to find a solution."

She´d already thought about this, but didn´t want to tell him yet, afraid of his reaction to her plans. She needed to get away from Grissom, not only temporarily but permanently. She couldn´t keep being hurt like this. She knew if she stayed she would be destroyed by it, by him, and she didn´t see herself raising her children as a broken woman.

"I don´t want to be away from them." Grissom had given this some thought as well and he was determined that he wouldn´t become one of those weekend-dads. He loved his children and he needed them. She couldn´t just take them away.

"I didn´t say I´d take them both with me." Sara lifted her head to look at him. "Grissom I need to get away from you, you know that and I know that. And I mean not just move into another apartment or house here in Vegas. I need to move far away from you, like..._far away._"

"What are you saying? That you want to move to another city?"

"Yes."

"What about the twins?"

"Well...I thought about...both of us taking one." Sara admitted, looking onto the floor. She felt ashamed to want to leave one of her daughters, but it was the only way they could handle this fairly.

"You mean I take one, you take the other with you and they come to visit one of us alternately?" Grissom asked incrediously.

"No, I mean, you take Hailey, I take Katie and...that´s it. No visits, no phonecalls or letters. One of them has you, the other has me."

"But...why...I mean how do you think that will work? Why should we do that?" Grissom was totally confused. How could she even suggest to leave one of her daughters and expect him to just do the same.

"I don´t want them to grow up in such a disfunctional environment. I don´t want them to always miss you or me when we´re seperated. And I don´t want them to have to choose where to live later."

"But..."

"No Gil, think about it: It´s the best solution. They are still so young now. They wouldn´t remember. Both would be able to grow up happily. I know you´d take good care of Hal and you´ll love her so much she won´t even have to miss me. And I am going to make Katie just as happy or at least I´ll try my best to do so."  
It had been hard to choose which of her children to take with her when she´d contemplated this option, but Hailey had been daddy´s girl from the beginning on, always falling asleep peacefully as soon as Grissom held her. Even at three month now Grissom was her favourite. Not that she did not like to cuddle with Sara, well she had to while Grissom was at work, but when she heard her father´s voice she always seemed to be much calmer while Katie was more Sara-fixated.

"Please Sara let us try to work this out...I´ll really try..."

"You say that since the fighting first began, but nothing´s changed. Please Gil, let us go. It´s for the best."

She could see he was contemplating her idea, but he already knew he didn´t have much of a choice. Sara was right, it was probably for the best. But how could he leave Katie and Sara, two people he loved more than his own life. They were his life, they were his everything.

But as he looked down at Hailey´s sleeping form in his arm, seeing the wet marks, the tears had left on her cheeks earlier he realised he couldn´t let his daughter grow up in a broken family as well.

"Okay." He finally whispered, his voice broken.

"Good." Sara stood up to lay Katie back down in the nursery. "I´m going to pack." While they´d talked she´d decided it would be best if she left immediately. She already knew a place where she could stay, but she wouldn´t tell Grissom.

While she packed, he went to the nursery himself to lay Hailey down and take one last picture of his daughters together and one of Katie alone. His heart ached already. How should he go on without them?

As the sun began to rise Sara was ready, having packed everything that seemed important to her and all the things Katie would need. Her carrier was already standing next to the door as Grissom lifted her out of her crib for the last time to say goodbye.

He walked to the door while Sara brought her baggage to her car and afterwards took Hailey into her arms.

Her heart broke as she had to let her daughter go, knowing she would have to grow up wihout her. _It´s the right thing to do Sara._ She told herself over and over as she put Hailey down onto her play blanket on the living room floor.

"I love you baby, you need to know that. I´m doing this for you." As if Hailey sensed what was going on she began to cry, a heartwrenching sound that made Sara´s own tears fall even harder. "Goodbye babe." Sara whispered as she stood up. She needed to leave now or she would stay forever. Grissom would comfort her, she was sure of it and he´d raise her well. She´d be the loveliest little girl Vegas had ever seen.

As she reached the front door Grissom was just placing Katie in her carrier, tears streaming down his face. It was the first time she´d seen him crying except for the moment their children had been born. But this time he cried out of agony not of happiness and seeing him like this made her heart shatter into pieces once again.

"Sara please..." He reached out for her as she lifted the carrier up.

"Go, take care of Hailey." She turned away, not wanting to see the pain in his eyes.

"You know I really loved you." She still did, but it wasn´t the time to tell him so.

"Me too." He whispered just before she opened the door and walked straight to her car, not looking back, never looking back.

Soon he heard the engine start and she was gone. Forever.

Only the sound of Hailey´s crying broke him out of his trance and he finally closed the door after Sara´s car had been out of view for some time already. He needed to be there for his daughter now. Nothing else mattered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: See chapter 1**

**A/N:** Thanks to the people who reviewed the prologue, they keep me going on writing and thanks to my beta Vikki138! All mistakes contained are mine!

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Chapter 1: Letters

_It´s been three days since we left you and I don´t think Katie has ever cried as much as during this time. She knows something is missing just like I do and it breaks my heart to see her this way. Everytime I look at her I see Hailey which is not very suprising considering they look the same. At least if you don´t know them that well. I wonder how you two are doing. I bet you take good care of her, but anyway, I´m concerned. Has it really been the right choice to do this, I ask myself over and over again. But it´s to late now to turn back and so I tell myself it´s all for the best. _

_Katie and I arrived at my friends Louisa´s two days ago. I may have told you about her sometime, she´s a college friend of mine who lives in Boston and that´s were we are right now. I´m probably never going to send this letter so I can tell you all this. My PEAP counselor once said it would be therapeutic to write letters even if they are not send afterwards so I´m doing exactly that. _

_So we are living at Louisa´s for a few weeks until I´ve found an apartment. She absolutely adores Katie and has proposed to watch her while I search for a job. I need to find one now that I don´t have a partner who works to earn money for us. But I have saved up enough to last at least three month without any problems and I hope by then I´ll have found a job at a lab or maybe at a university. Louisa thinks we´re nuts to do this, but she seems to understand nontheless and I´m grateful that she does not question my choice too much. _

_Katie just woke up and is crying again, so I´ll have to run...I still love you Gil, even if I didn´t tell you so. Sara._

_It´s been three days since you two left us and Hailey hasn´t stopped crying except for the few times_ _when she falls asleep out of exhaustion. She knows something is missing just like I do. I miss you two more than I ever thought possible. I took a vacation from work for a few weeks to get my act back together. Catherine came over yesterday to demand an explanation about my sudden leave (you know how she is) and she thinks we are nuts for doing this. But she has seen us both suffer because of our...relationship so she at least seems to understand our choice a bit. Of course she told the others (well, somebody had to) and they are all a bit off ever since...but they´ll probably accept our decision. They´ll have to after all. Brass came by this morning to check up on me but he left rather soon as Hailey wouldn´t stop crying and he saw I was busy trying to keep my calm._

_I wonder where you and Katie are. I could search for you, but I won´t. We have made this deal and it´s for the best, at least that´s what I tell myself. _

_I even try to tell myself I write this letter out of therapeutic reasons but the truth is I hope that one day I can send it to you. _

_Sara, I love you, I really do and at the moment I have no idea how to go on without you and Katie. _

_Gil_

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_Dear Grissom, _

_I haven´t written to you since that first letter month ago which I still have in a drawer somewehre, but today Katie made her first steps and it made me think. Does Hailey walk already? Does she smile a lot? Is the ladybug still her favourite stuffed animal?_

_Katie smiles a lot but only if she´s around people she knows, like Louisa who babysits her three times a week now while I work at the university (I give lectures in physics and forensics) or like Brandon who is a colleague and by now a pretty good friend of mine. Doesn´t know about you and Hailey. Louisa is the only one who knows and I want it to stay that way. You are a part of my past which I am trying hard to move away from (without much success I have to admit. But how could I ever expect to forget you and my other daughter?). _

_Last week Katie said her first word, you would not believe it, but it was bug. Why can´t she just say mommy first, like all the other children? She´s just like her dad which makes it so much more difficult to forget you. _

_But I want to,I really do, because then my heart would maybe stop to ache. _

_Sara. _

_Dear Sara, _

_Today Hailey spoke her first word and of course it made me think of you and Katie again. I wonder if she talks already and if she walks like Hailey does. You wanna know what she said? We were on the playground and a little boy fell from the swing and of course began to cry and call for his mommy. Hailey looked at me, smiled and actually said "mommy". Why can´t her first word be daddy? I wish it wouldn´t make my heart bleed still when I think about you but of course it does and as she repeats the word over and over I´m hurting pretty much at the moment. I bet Katie´s first word was Mommy too. Or at least I hope it was because I know that´d make you happy. I wonder if you think about us as much as I think about you. _

_I´m working normally again, have for a few month now and luckily I have found a good babysitter for Hailey at night. Her name´s Marissa, she´s still very young but really good with kids and I´m sure you´d like her if you met her._

_I need to head to get back to work now because I´m writing this while I should be doing paperwork (you know how I am)._

_I miss you. Gil_

_A/N: Liked/or dislikedthis chappy?Please review! Thanks for reading!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1

**A/N:** I´m sorry it took me so long to update but I just didn´t have much time to write. So here´s chapter 2 finally. Please tell me what you think!

Thanks to my beta Vikki138. All mistakes contained are mine.

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Chap2: Happy Birthday?

"And Louisa promised to go to the zoo with me soon..." Katie rambled on, already lying in her bed, wrapped in a blanket.

"Yeah, she told me."

"And Brandon said he´d buy me a chemistry set and I already looked into that book you gave me and there is a very big butterfly in it with red wings and there was a coakroach and Louisa read it to me and it says that their are people who let their coakroaches race and there is actually a competition every year but it´s in San Francisco and the owner of the winning roach gets two thousand dollars and..."

"Honey, calm down..."

Ever since her fourth-birthday-party was over, Katie had been talking non-stop about her friends and her presents. Now that it was already two hours past her usual bedtime, Sara hoped she´d calm down enough to fall asleep soon. She had a lecture tomorrow morning and needed to be awake then.

"Okay..." Katie was quiet for a moment. "Do you think there will be lions at the zoo?"

"Yes, I´m sure there are."

"Will you read the lion-book to me? That one about the little lion who is raised by a sheep?"

"Yes Sweetie." Sara retrieved the book from the shelf next to Katie´s small bed and lay down next to her daughter.

"It was a busy day for the stork..."

Ten minutes later, Katie was sound asleep and breathing deeply. Sara put the book back into place before leaning down to softly remove a brown curl from her daughter's forehead before kissing her just above her brow. She couldn´t help but think about the other birthday girl who lived across the country. Had she had a good birthday too? Did Grissom take her somewhere or had they celebrated with their friends? What did Grissom do to keep Hailey´s curly hair from falling into her face constantly? Did she wear barettes and a ponytail like Katie liked to do or was her hair cut shorter?

She often wondered what Hailey was like. Was she as introverted as Katie who clearly had that trait from her father, or was she more outgoing? Was she interested in bugs? Did she like school? Did she have any of the character traits of herself or was she more like Grissom?

During the past few years, Sara had often wanted to call Grissom. To ask him how they were, what their life was like, and to tell him about Katie and how fast she was growing up and how curious she was about everything. But she knew if she called, the yearning for them would only grow and she´d hurt even more.

Leaving Katie to her dreams, Sara left her room to go back into the living room where Louisa was sitting, flipping through a journal.

"Didn´t think you´d get her to sleep so fast," she said, looking up to Sara who sat down next to her friend.

"Neither did I, but you know, even she needs to recover her energy sources from time to time," Sara answered, smiling sadly.

"You thinking ´bout Hailey again?" Louisa asked emphatically.

"Sure. What else do you expect? It´s her birthday today, too. I wonder how she´s doing. If Grissom takes good care of her."

"That´s normal. What did you expect when you left? You´ll always think about her -and him for that matter- and that´s a good thing. You wouldn´t want to forget about your own daughter now, would you?"

"No, but it´s just...it´s so hard sometimes to see Katie and how she grows up and to know there is a person out there who looks exactly like her...and who doesn´t know about it. Who´ll probably never know about it. It´s just... that this time of year it´s especially hard to bear."

Sara couldn´t hold the tears in anymore. This was all just plain wrong. This was not how it was supposed to be. But after all this time she couldn´t change the way things had turned out. Not now, not ever.

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"Greg said he´d help me set up the chemistry set and Nick read to me from that book about bugs, he said there is a passage about ladybugs there too but we couldn´t find it. And did you see the barettes Lindsay gave me for my birthday? They have butterflies on them..." Hailey rambled on while brushing her teeth - well at least attempting to do so while talking.

"Yes honey, I saw them, they are beautiful. Now finish brushing your teeth, you need to go to bed. It´s almost ten." Grissom interrupted softly.

"Yes Sir." Hailey obliged, brushing her teeth and washing her face, then following Grissom into her room.

"Can Warrick take me to that new rollercoaster tomorrow? He says it´s made for kids and I can go ride it with him, it has only been open for a week...please daddy?"

"We´ll see, I´ll ask him if he has time, but it probably won´t be tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, alright." The now four-year-old crawled into bed and let herself be covered with her blanket by Grissom.

"Daddy will you read something to me?"

"Yeah, what do you want to hear?"

"Can we read the one with the lion who is raised by a sheep?" She asked tiredly.

"Sure." Grissom liked the book just as much as Hailey did. It was one Sara had bought during her pregnancy, but she´d taken the first copy with her when she´d left. Grissom had bought a new one soon afterwards as he´d seen it displayed in a children´s bookstore.

"It was a busy day for the stork..." His soothing voice soon lulled Hailey into a peaceful slumber. When her breathing steadied, Grissom put the book down onto her bedside table and leaned down to kiss her forehead, softly wiping a curl of brown hair out of the way.

Was Katie´s hair just as curly? Surely it would be, they were identical twins. But he just couldn´t help but wonder about it. Had she had a good birthday? Did they celebrate like he and Hailey did? Did Katie have friends who came over? Was she a happy four-year-old? He´d give everything to see his other daughter, if only for a moment, to know she was fine and was cared for, to know _how_ she was at all. He wondered if she was as outgoing as Hailey. She didn´t get that trait from him, that was for sure. Did Katie like bugs? Did she like to learn new things everyday like Hailey did?

He also wondered if she still had his last name, but he was almost sure Sara had changed it. She´d probably cut every connection there was to him.

Grissom took one last look at Hailey before leaving her to sleep and returning to the living room to clean up the mess their small birthday party had left.

While washing dishes, he couldn´t stop the tears that welled up as he thought about the two other people he loved more than anything and who he´d lost four years ago. He couldn´t go back to make everything right again. Not now, not ever.

to be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

A/N: I´m sorry it took me so long to update! But here it is the third chapter of my little story...hope you enjoy reading, feedback would be very welcome!

Thanks to **Theatresporter** for beta-ing this for me! All mistakes contained are mine!

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Chapter 3: class trip

Grissom knew seven-year-old Hailey quite well. What she wanted, what she had to take with her to the class trip, and the fact that her dad's questions were rather annoying to her.

"Do you have enough underwear, socks; did you pack your blue jeans? Why do you want to take your flower dress with you and those sandals? You're going to Boston. You need practical clothes. I mean, they are going to do the grand city tour with you. You'll be walking all day."

Grissom didn't know where his daughter got her sense of style from. Maybe she'd hung out with Catherine too much. Since she was four years old she had chosen her clothes by herself, and the things she picked out always seemed to match perfectly. She always knew exactly what she wanted.

"This is a class trip, daddy. We won't do that much walking around, and if we do I still have my jeans and my sneakers. I know what I'm doing." For her seven years, Hailey was pretty independent and determined if she wanted something. "I already went on a trip like this last year. I know what I'll need."

"Okay, okay." Grissom held his hands up in surrender. "Come on, we'll have breakfast together before I drive you to the airport."

"I'll be down in a minute."

Grissom went down to set the table for the two of them, while Hailey rummaged through her drawer. The thing she was searching for had to be somewhere in there--- and there it was. Hailey held the photograph into the light to take a close look at it. She'd found it in her father's closet while she was playing hide and seek with Lindsay one afternoon. She'd taken it, knowing her father had probably forgotten about it.

"Hailey, the pancakes are getting cold." Grissom called. Hailey stuffed the photo into her suitcase, closing it carefully and then going downstairs to have breakfast with her father, before taking off to Boston for ten days.

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Boston wasn't anything like she'd imagined it. She didn't know exactly what she had imagined it would be like - maybe something like New York - but it wasn't that at all. Much more European it seemed, with the old houses and the streets. But it looked beautiful and much more natural than the shining lights of Las Vegas.

Now on the second day of their stay here, Hailey and her friends were visiting the zoo. The teachers who were accompanying them had just been explaining something about the rainforest and the animals living in it, when Hailey spotted the tropical house, placed away from the rest of the exhibit. As her classmates were listening attentively to what their teacher had to say and Hailey had already heard most of it from her father, she decided it wouldn't hurt anyone if she went for a little tour of her own. She'd only be gone for a few minutes anyway. Her father had told her about the amazing butterflies and other exotic insects that lived in that area of the zoo. She'd always wanted to see them for herself and not just in pictures in the books she read. Without anyone noticing, she made her way to the entrance of the large house and entered.

The air inside was humid and warm and it smelled of _plants_ somehow. Vegetative, but ambiguous. Hailey followed one of the small paths leading through the different kinds of trees and bushes. She spotted several birds first; she identified them as some kind of parrots, with their coloured wings and happy singing, sitting in the trees above her. Hailey was awed by the diversity of the animals living between the plants. Just then, a beautiful coloured butterfly caught her eye. She had seen it before in a book but she couldn't remember the name, so she decided to take a picture of it with her camera, which her father had given to her for the trip.

Opening her backpack, Hailey pulled out the photo she'd taken with her, which lay on top of all other things first, before reaching for her camera. But before she could even put everything else back in something –or somebody- crashed into her...

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"Katie, Louisa is here." Sara called out.

"Coming!" Katie's voice sounded from her room. Only moments later she hurried out, backpack in hand, smiling brightly.

"Let's go." She said, taking Louisa's hand and pulling on it.

"Whoa, sweetie, calm down. The zoo will still be there when we arrive, even if we don't leave for another five minutes." It had become some sort of a ritual for them. Every now and then, when Sara had to work particularly long or had to do something else, without being interrupted by her daughter every few minutes, Louisa would take Katie for the day and the following night. The day would be spent at the zoo, or, during the winter - mostly at the ice skating hall. In the evening Louisa would take her goddaughter to a restaurant before going home to watch a movie and falling asleep on the couch together.

"Bye, honey, I'll pick you up tomorrow morning. Have fun." Sara bent down to kiss the seven-year-old.

Louisa and her daughter were out the door only seconds later, leaving Sara to her tasks at hand. She had planned on sorting out their attic, as she hadn't done anything up there since they moved into the small house four years back.

There had always been something she had to take care of first, so she'd never gotten around to rearranging the chaos dominating their only spare room. Today she would have the time and she would use it.

She made herself a cup of tea and went upstairs into the attic. Where to begin? The small room was filled with boxes of different sizes and shapes, containing different items from different times of her life.

She decided to begin in the back of the room. Opening the first boxes, she found they were filled with old books, some of which she didn't even know she possessed anymore. Old copies of romance novels she had liked to read while being a student, and some comics her brother had once given to her, when their life had still been "normal". She'd always taken them with her, even while she was in foster care, though she never read any of them. She wasn't into comics at all, but it was nice to have something to remind her of the good parts of her childhood.

She'd almost sorted out her seventh box when she found it The cover of the book seemed almost untouched. Not new, but still somehow unused, and the sight of it made her gasp. She'd thought she'd thrown it away after leaving him, but apparently she had been wrong. Slowly, Sara lifted the textbook out of the box and opened it to take a look at the first page.

'_Merry Christmas, Grissom.' _Written in neat letters beyond the title. Her entomology book. Tears welled up in Sara's eyes as she regarded the book in her hands, the book he'd given to her for her fourth Christmas in Vegas, at a time when they weren't even friends. It had meant the world to her then, this small gesture, this little sign that he maybe cared for her, even if he didn't show it in any other way. And even now it brought up emotions long forgotten, buried deep within. Sara decided it was time to take a break. Standing up with the book in her hand she noticed a piece of paper fall out of it and onto the floor. And a new flood of memories overwhelmed her when she looked at it. It was the first sonogram picture of the twins.

_She should have done the test weeks ago. She should have gone to the doctors for days. But she only did it two hours ago, straight after shift - and now she held the black and white picture in her hands, regarding it critically. _

_She'd known something was wrong for some time, but she hadn't wanted to admit it to herself. Her period had always been irregular and she could always blame the nausea on Chinese takeout or a decaying body in front of her. But still she knew it wasn't like other times. She felt tired more often and sometimes she couldn't even stand the smell of Grissom. And she didn't want to sleep with him anymore. He had noticed but he hadn't mentioned anything and she was thankful for his ability to avoid the matter for what had been four weeks now._

_It seemed now that she should be the one to address the reason for it. Her doctor had been clear, she was thirteen weeks pregnant, there was no way back - as if she'd even considered it- and now she had to think about Lamaze classes, maternity clothes and pregnancy vitamins. She had to admit, even if she was shocked after hearing the news, now that she sat in her living room with the sonogram picture of her baby in her hand she felt a small flutter of excitement in her belly. She and Grissom would have a baby. Even if he backed out now, there would always be a connection between the two of them. Grissom wasn't the type of man who abandoned his child. He would want to be part of his or her life no matter what. They hadn't planned to have family so early - they hadn't discussed it at all- but maybe it was the right thing for them to start one now. Maybe they were destined to have kids after all. _

_But then the doubts set in. What if he left her when she told him, because he felt trapped? What if he stayed with her just for the sake of their child? Would their relationship survive such a big change? Would she really be able to raise a child? Would Grissom make a good father? _

_Her head began to spin and she leaned against the back of the couch heavily. It had all happened way too fast. But still she could already feel the love for that tiny creature in her tummy building as she looked at the sonogram. It seemed to be healthy her doctor had assured her. No complications so far and none to be expected. She had to cut back on caffeine and overtime, but other than that life would go on as usual. Well, at least for the next four months until her belly would be so huge that she wouldn't be able to see her own feet anymore. But for now she still looked normal and she was happy for that. How would their friends and their other co-workers react when they found out? She knew Greg would pretend to be heartbroken but would be secretly pleased for them. But what about the others? She felt like the time they decided to tell their colleagues about their relationship. _

_Her front door opened and Sara immediately slipped the picture in her hand into first thing she could find which seemed to be the entomology textbook Grissom had once given her for Christmas. _

"_Sara? Honey, are you home?" Grissom called out, stepping out of his shoes in the hallway. He saw her sitting on the couch when he entered the living room and she stood up to greet him. _

"_Hey." Her voice didn't sound quite right. "I waited up for you, but I'm going to bed now. Long night." She kissed him quickly on the lips before making her way to their bedroom, leaving Grissom standing in the living room, a confused expression on his face. She knew if she had to face him any longer she'd tell him. And she didn't want that. Not now. It was all too perfect at the moment and she knew the news would change everything. _

_Grissom didn't follow her, fortunately - opting to take a shower first, and so she stripped down to her underwear and slipped under the covers, turning away from the door. They weren't even living together yet, he hadn't even asked her if she wanted to, and now they were going to have a child. No, that couldn't go well. _

_Sara heard the water running and Grissom humming under the shower, and a tear slipped from her eye as she realised this might be one of the last times he'd be at her place, carefree like this. Only the thought of him leaving her because of the pregnancy broke her heart. And by now she was sure he would do just that. Grissom didn't want children, he was happy with his life as it was. His life consisted of work and Sara and he didn't want it any other way. What would she do without him? Sara grew more hysterical by the minute and the tears just wouldn't stop falling. _

_When Grissom entered the bathroom, only dressed in a pair of boxers, her face was wet and her body shook violently with every sob she emitted. _

"_Honey, what's wrong?" His voice was so concerned it made her cry even more and when he slipped under the sheet behind her and pulled her into his arms she tried to free herself from his arms. When she told him he'd only push her away, she was sure of that. _

"_Sara, tell me. What happened? Have I done anything wrong?" Grissom was totally confused. She had been fine four hours ago when she'd left work. And when he'd told her he had to do some more paperwork, she'd seemed fine with that as well. They'd done this many times before. She would go to her place without him and he'd stop by later when he was finished. She'd given him her house keys, so he was always able to slip into bed with her after a long shift, and they would sleep until late afternoon together. What was different today? He tried to recall the case she'd been assigned to but couldn't make out why a simple B&E would make her cry. _

"_Please tell me. I'm worried about you." He tried to pull her into his arms again and this time she let him hold her. _

"_It's nothing," she said unconvincingly. As if he'd believe her now that he'd seen her cry. _

"_Sara..." he trailed off. "Please."_

She didn't want to tell him, not like this and not now. She tried to turn away again, but he held her in place.

"_Honey, tell me. I can't bear to not know what's wrong with you." His tone was serious and she knew she had to tell him. _

"_I´m pregnant." She admitted after a long pause. _

_At first he didn't say anything. He didn't even move. He just lay still with her in his arms. The tears stopped coming as she waited for his reaction. As usual his face carried the perfectly expressionless mask. She hated it when she wasn't able to read him. _

"_Grissom, please say something." She pleaded after a few minutes when he still hadn't reacted. _

"_You're pregnant?" He asked his voice hoarse. _

"_Yes," she answered softly. "Thirteen weeks." _

"_Didn't we..."_

"_We did, but apparently that's no guarantee anymore." _

_He was silent again, only regarding her face closely. _

"_We're going to have a baby?" He asked again, incredulously, and Sara nodded again. She almost wanted to laugh at his expression. He seemed as if he'd just discovered that there was a new kind of bug on this planet. _

"_Thirteen weeks..." he muttered, trying to process what Sara was telling him. "When did you find out?" _

"_This morning after shift." _

_His expression changed again, a smile tugging at his lips. _

"_I think I need a whisky." _

That had been the beginning of it all. Well, at least the beginning of her new life. Sara felt overwhelmed by the memory. Grissom had never seen that sonogram picture. She hadn't told him about it. But he'd been to every doctor's visit with her from that day on and he'd carried a sonogram of the twins in his wallet which had been taken when she was five months down the track.

To be honest, it hadn't been so bad the whole time. Between the fights, Grissom had been the cutest guy in the world. He had been attentive and helpful, attending Lamaze classes with her and telling everybody who came along that he was about becoming a father soon. He had been a proud daddy-to-be. The problems they had had hadn't been related to the twins, but much but more to the fact that she didn't want to marry Grissom, Sara noted. He'd asked her a few weeks after hearing the news, but it just hadn't felt right for her to say yes. She'd felt as if he just wanted to marry her because of the kids and she hadn't wanted that to happen. Children weren't a reason for her to get married, but he had been a bit more conservative on that matter. Anyway, they didn't get married and that had probably caused their break-up in the end.

What would have happened if she'd accepted the offer, Sara wondered. Would they still be together? Would the fighting have stopped? Would she be with both her daughters now to see them grow up _together_?

Sara had to admit to herself that she regretted her decisions then, now more than ever. The impact they had on her present had been overwhelming. Everything could be different now if she'd just agreed to his proposal back then. She wondered if Grissom did regret some of his decisions, too, and what he was up to nowadays. She would never know but she hoped he was happy with his life.

Pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind she continued to rummage through the boxes...

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"I want to see the butterflies. Please can we go into the tropical house now?" Katie pulled on Louisa's hand again, already moving into the direction of the tropical house.

"Whatever you wish for, young lady." Louisa followed suite, laughing slightly. "I still don't get what you find so fascinating about it, that we have to spent half of our time here in it."

"I just like to see the animals. I mean there are apes and lions and all that everywhere on TV and stuff, but the bugs, they are always left out. Though they are much more interesting. I like to observe them and they have a lot of exotic insects here. I have a book about bugs that are used to tropical climate," Katie told her godmother impatiently.

"Yeah I know. I still don't get what's so fascinating about them." Louisa murmured.

Katie always wanted to go to the tropical house almost immediately after they got into the zoo. And she could spend hours in it while Louisa mostly sat down on one of the benches with a book, waiting until Katie had finished her observations. Today was no exception and so Katie strolled along the paths on her own, while Louisa waited for her near the entrance. A particular multi-coloured butterfly caught her eye and Katie stopped in her tracks not wanting to disturb it. She wished she had a camera right now. Hadn't Louisa taken one with her? Katie was pretty sure she had seen one in her godmother's backpack when they'd paid for the entrance earlier. Turning around abruptly to run to her babysitter, Katie crushed into somebody...


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

A/N: Thanks to **theatresporter** for beta-ing again! All mistakes still contained are mine!

And many thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter, it keeps me writing! The next chapter could take me a while as school is demanding a lot of my attention at the moment, but I´ll try to update soon!

Thanks for reading!

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Chapter 4:

"Sorry." Katie apologized immediately. She looked up to see the other girl lying on the floor, half-empty backpack in hand, while the remainder of her things were scattered around them.

Katie held out her hand to help the girl up, and as she looked toward her, her breath caught in her throat. It couldn´t be that...this girl looked familiar. VERY familiar. And very angry.

"Next time watch your step," she hissed, getting up without giving Katie´s outstretched hand a second glance.

"I´m really sorry." Katie sighed, kneeling down to help gather the things that had fallen onto the floor.

"What did you get so excited about that you had to run?" That goddamn curiousity.

"Nothing." Katie mumbled. As if the girl would understand if she told her about the butterfly.

"Well it must have been something good. Look at the radius where my things have been scattered." Her father had told Hailey everything about centrifugal forces a few weeks ago.

"I just wanted to take a photo of something interesting, but the camera is still in my friend's backpack." Katie finally answered. Lifting Hailey´s camera from the floor and holding it up she added, "Seems like you just wanted to do the same."

"Yeah," Hailey answered shortly, kneeling down herself to pick up her things.

"What was it?"

"A butterfly. But now it´s gone anyway." The dissapointment Hailey´s voice was clear.

"I´m really sorry. If it helps, I got excited about a butterfly too."

The girls continued to collect Hailey´s things quietly.

"What´s your name?" Katie finally asked, not standing the silence any longer. She´d never been good at that.

"Hailey. I´m Hailey Grissom. And you are...?" Hailey was happy the other girl had broken the silence.

"I´m Katie. Katie Sidle. Nice to meet you." After a pause she added, "You know, we do look a bit..."

"Alike?" Hailey quipped in.

"Yeah."

"That´s what I thought too. Bizarre, huh?"

"Yeah." Katie fell silent again. Looking around for more things the other girl could have lost, she spotted a photograph which had fallen under a plant. Picking it up to look, Katie gasped. It couldn´t be...this was...this was her...no...

"Where...where did you get this?" She stuttered, waving the photograph at the other girl.

Hailey immediately pulled it out of Katie´s grasp.

"My father." She grumbled, putting the picture back into her backpack and zipping it up again.

"Who is the woman in the photo?" Katie had to know why this girl was carrying a photograph of _her_ mother in her backpack.

"My mother."

"No way."

"What, no way?" Hailey asked, confused. "Sure, that´s my mother."

"But she can´t be!"

"And why is that?" Hailey demanded, growing agitated.

"Because she is _my_ mother."

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LV crime lab

"Gil, you need to go home sometime you know?" Catherine was bugging him - again.

"When I´m finished processing these prints I´ll take a break, I promise." He huffed, hoping she´d let him alone.

"When was the last time you were at home for more than a quick nap and a shower?"

Since Hailey had left for her class trip two days ago, Grissom had been at work non-stop, pulling a double, even doing paperwork afterwards, which meant he probably had a serious problem with being at home alone.

As Grissom didn´t answer and just ignored her question, Catherine turned to leave but stopped again before reaching the door.

"I might be repeating myself here Gil, but I think it´s time you lift your head out of that microscope again. Think about it. It´s been seven years now."

And with that she was gone, Grissom looking up just as she left, a puzzled expression on his face.

She was right, he hadn´t had a single date since Sara had left him, which was for one part because he had to take care of Hailey and was already feeling guilty for leaving her alone when he had to work and for the other part because he knew he would never again find anyone he could love as much as he had loved Sara. Not to mention someone who could love Hailey as much as Sara would have loved her.

But now that Hailey was in Boston he could at least enjoy his time alone a bit.

Having finished processing the prints, there was nothing left for Grissom to do, so he took off to the breakroom, hoping he´d find one of his colleagues there.

Rounding the corner, he could already hear laughter, and upon entering the room he saw Greg hunched over on the couch, red in the face, and Nick and Warrick both sitting at the table, holding their bellies.

"What´s so funny?" Grissom asked, walking over to the counter to pour himself a cup of coffee.

"Oh, just another stunt Hodges pulled," Nick answered between gasps for air, "Nothing special." Grissom just shrugged his shoulders, knowing the joke must have been a spur-of-the-moment thing.

"You guys want to come over for dinner before shift tonight?" He asked casually, leaning back against the counter.

A few years ago the question would have earned him raised eyebrows and unbelieving glances, but since Grissom raised Hailey alone it had become an almost usual habit for his colleagues to drop by his place some time or another. He liked their company more than he thought he would, so he began to invite them over from time to time.

"Sure, I´m in." Warrick, who´d composed himself first, answered.

"Me too." Nick skipped in. Greg only nodded, still laughing.

"Great, let´s say at six? Then we have enough time to play a game of poker or two."

"Sure thing."

"Good, see you later guys. I´m off now." And with that he was gone, a smile on his face.

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He couldn´t remember the last time he´d been shopping alone. Hailey loved the supermarket. When she still was a baby she would immediately fall asleep when they stepped into one and some nights when she just wouldn´t sleep, Grissom had driven there with her and she´d calmed down and slept. Now she loved to pick her food herself, so they always went shopping together.

It was strange to go through the aisles alone, without having to look after the little girl, without having to see her pout and whine everytime she didn´t get something she wanted. Unfortunately he just couldn´t stand to see her sad, so -most of the time- she got what she wanted.

Wandering through the aisle with the frozen food Grissom was just contemplating what to prepare for dinner when something - or somebody - bumped into the front of his shopping cart with a rather high speed.

"Oh, I´m so sorry." The woman immediately apologized. "I didn´t see you. Daydreaming again, sorry." She looked so apologetic and actually a bit scared of him, so Grissom just had to smile.

"No harm done." He said softly moving his cart away a bit so she could go past him.

He watched her as she smiled at him one more time as she walked past, her long blonde hair waving in the air. He didn't know what it was about this woman, but somehow he found himself searching for her a few minutes later. _Probably just Catherine´s little microscope speech again..._ He told himself, when he still hadn´t found her after minutes of searching.

Slightly disappointed, he made his way over to the checkout and paid, taking the ingredients he had bought for a lasagne (vegetarian - since Sara had once taught him how to cook it). Then, he walked to his car. As he was just putting his shopping into the trunk of his SUV, he heard a voice calling out behind him.

"Hey..." The blonde woman was making her way over to him, a big smile on her face. "Sorry, I just wanted to ask..." she started, as Grissom stood, a little caught off-guard, "You probably have a girlfriend or a family who you're going home to now, but if that´s not the case…Would you maybe like to have coffee with me sometime?" She sounded just as insecure as Sara had when she´d asked him out for coffee – an event which must have been at least twenty years ago, when she´d still been a student, and he'd given that lecture at Berkley.

No. He had to get her out of her head, and except for that tiny little flash of insecurity, this woman didn´t seem to have anything in common with Sara - at all - which was exactly what he needed.

"Sure. Why not." He answered simply, smiling back at her.

"Great." He liked the way her hair shimmered in the sunlight. "You want to tell me your name and your number so we can arrange to meet?" Her blue eyes sparkled and he just couldn´t stop smiling.

"You have paper and pencil?"  
"Here you go." It surprised him that she seemed to be prepared for this moment as she pulled a notepad and a pencil out of her coat pocket, handing them to him.

"Gil Grissom." She read out loud as he gave it back to her. "Nice name. I´m Susan, Susan Jennings. It´s very nice to meet you." She held her hand out for him to shake, and he took it, smirking at the ridiculousness of the situation.

"The pleasure's mine." He answered. "So Susan, will I get your number, too, now that you´ve got mine?"

"Nah, I don´t think so." she said abruptly. "After all, you could be a crazy psycho killer." And after a pause, "I'll call you" she laughed, waving at him as she left.

Even if the situation seemed to be a bit like a strange dream, he had to smile all the way home. Maybe for once it was good that Hailey was in Boston.

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A/N: Feedback would be veeery appreciated ;-)


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Sorry it takes me so long to update! I´m really trying to find the time to write...

Thanks to those who still read (and review) and thanks to **Theatresporter** for the beta!

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Chapter 5:

The two girls stood in the tropical house like two ice sculptures. They couldn´t move, they couldn´t even breathe. Hailey was the first one to compose herself again.

"This is _your_ mother?" She asked, her voice quivering. The impact of what Katie had just told her began to register slowly. "You live with her?"

Katie only nodded. This girl, this Hailey, who looked exactly like her, had a picture of _her_ mother. How could it be that she claimed it was her mother?

"I live with my dad." Hailey stated quietly. "My mom left us when I was a baby."

That seemed to pull Katie out of her trance.

"My dad left us when I was a baby, too. Mom and I are on our own."

The girls looked at each other silently for a long time, both realising what it all probably meant. But it couldn´t be...could it?  
"My birthday's on 13th of April." Hailey added after a while, anxiously waiting for Katie's reaction. Her face was expressionless when she answered. "Mine too."

"Do you have a photo of your dad?" Hailey asked when Katie stayed quiet again.

"Yeah, but it´s at home."

"I need to see it."

Now Katie looked confused. "Why?"

"_Your_ dad´s probably _my_ dad, don´t you think?"

Katie shrugged her shoulders "Could be."

"We need to confirm...you know..."

God, how could this girl seem so disinterested? They were maybe sisters, twins even and this girl seemed as if she´d just offered her a candybar and she was considering taking her onto the offer.

"Katie? Where are you sweetheart?" A voice suddenly cut through the air as Louisa made her way over to them. She stopped short in her tracks when she noticed the other girl...

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Sara continued to clean out the attic, angrily wiping at the tears that wouldn't stop coming.

After all these years, after all this suffering and regretting, she couldn´t believe that one textbook could throw her for such a loop. It just wasn´t fair. Unfortunately a lot more forbidden memories welled up as she found an old photo album, the only one she´d kept of her time with Grissom. She lay it down on top of the steps, not willing to look in just yet, but not wanting to put it back into one of the boxes either.

After what seemed like hours but were in fact only a few minutes she couldn't contain her curiosity anymore.

Sara went downstairs, photo album in hand, and brewed herself a cup of coffee before sitting down on the living room couch.

The book was covered in dust which she wiped away carefully, revealing the words '_Our first family album_' printed on the cover. Catherine had given it to them when they´d told her the news of her pregnancy. Usually they both weren´t sappy enough for things like this, but this time it was different.

Sara lifted the the cover to reveal the first page and the photo glued to it.

"_Would you like to dance with me?" Grissom asked softly from behind her. A surprised smile graced Sara´s lips. Usually he shied away from showing any affection towards her in the presence of others and the police ball was not what she would call private. But still he held out his hand to her and she accepted it happily. _

"_You look stunning tonight," he whispered into her ear, leading her towards the crowded dancefloor. She was wearing a red, knee-length, thin-strapped silk-dress that hugged her curves perfectly. Her hair was pinned up at the back, a few tendrils falling out at the sides. _

"_You don´t look bad yourself." She whispered back, letting him pull her into his arms. She´d always loved him wearing his tux and this time was no different. _

_They swayed to the music, being played by a jazz orchestra, both enjoying the feel of the other. They´d come to the ball seperately, not wanting to raise Ecklie's suspicion, or anyone else's. Since the team knew about them dating they had to be extra careful around the lab. Though both doubted they´d be fired if anyone of higher authority found out about their relationship, both knew Ecklie would probably find a way to use it against them somehow. _

"_Gil?" _

"_Mmh," Grissom murmured, savouring the feeling of having her in his arms. _

"_Do you think this is a good idea?" She asked hesitantly. _

_He backed away a bit to look into her eyes, leaving his hands on her hips. _

"_What do you mean?" He asked, concerned. _

"_I mean, dancing, here, in the middle of the people we normally want to hide our relationship from."_

_Grissom sighed and pulled her back into his arms, holding her a little tighter to him. _

"_You danced with Nick earlier," He said evenly, not betraying any meaning behind his words. _

"_And?" _

"_And nothing. You danced with him, I danced with Catherine, nobody said anything against it." He declared._

"_Yeah, but that is different,"Sara protested. _

"_How´s it different? Sara these people have no idea about us being an item. It looks the same to them." Her nervousness waned slowly. _

"_You´re right," she aknowledged after a slight pause, "but it´s definetely different to me."_

"_Oh, how so Ms. Sidle?" Grissom asked, teasing her. _

"_Nick doesn´t make my heart beat as fast as you do." _

_She looked up at him and their eyes met, both smiling slightly._

_They didn´t notice the flash of the camera as Catherine snapped the picture, both being lost in the moment. _

It was the first picture they´d put into the album because it had been the first taken of them as a couple. It made her heart ache to see it now and Sara knew that the pain would never go away completely. But she turned to the next page nevertheless, revealing two photos of Grissom, both showing him in the middle of what had been their half-furnished nursery at the time, pieces of wood that belonged to a crib that had yet to be built, scattered around him on the floor. They´d begun to furnish the nursery early on. He had almost seemed excited at the time, painting the walls, putting together the various furnishings. Like a little boy in a candystore, that´s what he looked like on the pictures, an expression on his face that looked similar to the one Katie got when something delighted her immensely.

The two pictures were followed by more of either Grissom or Sara redecorating his townhouse and a few of the team and them at their baby shower but none of these pictures showed them together.

Only as Sara reached the last few pages of the album did she see photos of them both with their babies. Two of the family in the hospital with a tired looking Sara and a happily smiling Grissom, each holding one of the newborn twins in their arms. And then pictures of either Hailey or Katie in their small basins, fast asleep.

On the last page was the photo Sara had dreaded to look at the whole time. It was a picture taken by a professional photographer showing them as a real family, Sara with Hailey and Grissom with Katie in his arms, both smiling proudly at the camera. They´d put that one up in their home, planning on letting a picture of them be taken every year. She´d taken it down from the wall the night she´d left without Grissom noticing and she wondered if it had been a good idea. Looking at it was painful, to see them as a family was painful and she knew she had to hide the album somewhere Katie would never find it. With a sigh Sara stood and climbed the stairs to the attic again.

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Only seconds after Louisa had found the two girls in the tropical house there were voices to be heard calling for Hailey. Her teacher and a few of her classmates were searching for her.

"I need to go. I went away from my class while we were taking the tour..." She whispered, her voice full of confusion and helplessness.

Louisa knew she had to do something. The girls had met, both probably didn´t even know what had just happened but they´d ask questions and Louisa had to make sure they got at least some answers. And she had to tell Sara that Hailey was in town, and she would have to take Katie home now and explain it to her and...her mind was reeling. This was not good. She didn´t even know how much Katie knew by now, but she was sure she would have figured out that Hailey was...well her sister.

Before Hailey could run away Louisa pulled out one of her calling cards and pressed it into her little hand. "Call me. Katie will stay with me tonight." She said. Hailey only nodded. She felt like she was dreaming, a very bizzare dream. "I really need to go." She whispered, before turning around and walking away quickly into the direction of her teacher´s voice.

Katie was left standing there, staring after her.

"Let´s go home. We need to talk," Louisa said, taking Katie´s hand carefully and pulling her towards the exit.

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"So that girl was my sister?" Katie asked, her voice shaking just like her hands. Louisa had taken her home and made her a hot chocolate while Katie waited in the living room, trying to process what had happened in the zoo earlier. Then she had sat down with the little girl and began to explain the situation to her. Katie had told her godmother what she knew about the other girl, which only confirmed Louisa´s suspicion that it was indeed Sara´s other daughter and Katie´s sister whom they had encountered at the zoo. As if the appearance of the two girls wasn´t enough of an indication.

"Yes." Louisa answered honestly, not quite knowing if she should really be the one telling Katie about all of this.

"Does mom know she is here?"

"No."

"Did Hailey know we live in Boston?"

"No, your Mum and Dad haven´t talked to each other since they split up when you two were babies. Hailey and your Dad have no idea that you two live here." Louisa answered honestly.

"What should we do now?" Katie asked after a pause. "I mean, now that I know that I have a...twin...I can´t just go home tomorrow and act like nothing happened."

"I know. But before we take any action we need to talk to Hailey first. We don´t know how she sees the situation. And we should tell your Mom."

"No."

"No? Don´t you think your Mom should know about this?"

"No. She was the one to split us up and she was the one who lied to me about having a sister. If she knew she´d send Hailey back to Dad and everything would be as it was before." Katie´s voice was angry.

"I don´t think so." Did Katie really think Sara wouldn´t want Hailey here if she knew? Well, from her perspective it probably seemed like it. She didn´t know about Sara´s mental condition over all these years, or the nights they´d sat in her living room and Sara had cried. She had no idea how much Sara had regretted her decision from back then. Katie only knew that her mother had lied to her.

"Well, let´s wait first to see if Hailey calls and then we´ll see what to do, okay?" Louisa finally compromised.

TBC...

**A/N: **Reviews are always greatly appreciated!


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1

**A/N:** A big thanks to **theatresporter** for the beta- without you this story would probably be a mess of grammatical and spelling mistakes!

Alot of thanks to Lady Kelly GS, Leafsgirl, Rain or Shine andRissa545 for reviewing the last chapterand a special thanks to odeepblue- your contant reviews really mean a lot to me! Enjoy!

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chapter 6:

Katie and Hailey sat on a bench in the local park, Hailey´s teachers having decided the children should get a day to themselves. In groups of three they were allowed to leave their hotel and explore the surrounding areas. Hailey had asked two of her friends, Lisa and Chelsey, to cover for her without telling them why. While being suspicious as to what the reason might be, both had agreed to play along. They were about to meet Hailey again in an hour to go back to the hotel together.

Hailey had indeed called Louisa the night after she´d met Katie at the zoo and they'd arranged for Katie and her to meet at the park. Louisa had convinced Sara to take another day off without Katie. It hadn´t been too hard, Sara seemed rather relieved to not have to look after her daughter.

As promised Hailey had brought a photo of Grissom and Katie had brought the one she had of him. It only confirmed what they already knew: they were twins.

"Tell me about dad. How is he?" Katie asked, breaking the silence that had surrounded the girls after they´d talked about their current living arrangements and their friends.

"I don't know how to describe him. He´s...he´s kind of an enigma. He knows just about everything, it doesn´t matter what you ask him he always knows the answer. He´s a walking encyclopedia."

Katie looked at her sister with huge eyes.

"Really everything?"

"Well maybe not everything. If you´d ask him who Jesse McCartney is, he probably wouldn´t know. But as for the rest, he knows it all. And he quotes books and stuff all the time which is quite annoying sometimes."

"Is he... cuddling you a lot?"

"Yeah, I´d say he cuddles me more than most Dads. I guess he tries to compensate the fact that I don´t have a mom...At least not living with us." Hailey added sadly.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, Mom's the same. She tries to make up for the fact that I have no dad around."

"Does it work for you?"

Katie shook her head.

"For me neither."

They were silent for a few moments.

"What does mom look like?" Hailey asked suddenly. "I mean, I do have a photo of her, but she´s still very young and she doesn't look directly into the camera in it."

"She's got brown hair and brown eyes. Not as many wrinkles as a lot of women her age. She has a gap between her front teeth, which looks kinda funny when she smiles or laughs. She´s quite thin, but she´s a vegetarian so I guess that´s normal."

"Are you a vegetarian, too?"

"No, I eat meat. Mom says it's no problem. She's used to people around her eating meat."

"Do we look similar to her?"

"A bit. Her hair´s like ours, at least when she doesn´t straighten it."

"Dad has curly hair too." Hailey interjected. "But it´s already grey."

"How old is Dad exactly?" Katie knew her Dad must be older than her Mom, at least he looked it on the photos, but you could never be sure.

"56 I think. Pretty old considering we are only seven."

"One of my classmates has a dad who is 72."

"Really?"

"Yeah...anyway, if Dad is 56, it means he is 15 years older than Mom."

"Do you think they split up because of the age difference?"

Katie contemplated her sister´s question.

"I don´t think so. They must have had a much more serious reason to seperate us, don´t you think?"

"Yeah, you´re right."

They were silent once again as they both thought about the new things they´d learned about their lives.

"I´d love to meet Mom." Hailey sighed deeply. The last time she´d had this thought it had been too unrealistic to even be contemplated properly, but now it was different. She knew where her Mother lived...she knew a lot more about her than before...

"You want to meet Dad too, right?"

"Yeah sure." Katie replied easily, not following the line of thought her sister had.

Hailey worked it all out in her head. She was sure her dad wouldn´t notice the differences between her and Katie. They just had to cut Katie´s hair, but not that much...oh, this would work she was sure of it.

"Okay, I have a plan."

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LV

It wasn´t like he´d expected it to beGrissom let himself fall backwards onto his bed, still fully clothed, closing his eyes to review the evening once more.

She'd called him on his night off, asking if he wanted to go for a drink with her. He´d planned to spent the evening reading and maybe catching up on some much needed sleep but she´d sounded so enthusiastic that he just couldn´t reject her.

As he´d made his way over to the bar where they wanted to meet his heart had beat faster than normally and he was surprised to find his hands sweating. He hadn´t had a date in years and even when he dated Sara it wasn´t like the real dating thing. They´d known each other for years already. This woman – Susan- was totally new to him, he didn´t know anything about her and neither did she in reverse. He hadn´t even told her that he had a daughter – well two technically.

She was already sitting at the bar, sipping at a martini when he entered, and her smile was so radiant he couldn´t help but smile back at her just as brightly.

"Good evening. Were you waiting long?" He asked politely.

"Not too long, I was a little early as usual." She replied, still smiling.

"You want to move this to a table?" Grissom gestured to a table in the far corner of the bar. She just nodded, already standing up.

As she walked in front of him, Grissom checked out her backside- he was just a man after all. And what he saw pleased him- a lot.

Their conversation had first been lead by the ordinary get-to-know-you questions. When he'd told her about Hailey Susan seemed a bit surprised but not in the least uninterested. She´d asked him a lot of questions about his daughter and he´d answered them proudly. Sara was not mentioned at all in their conversation which pleased him all the more. He didn´t need a woman who wanted to know all about his past, especially not about Hailey's mother.

Grissom looked at his watch for the first time when Susan went to use the restroom, and noticed that, surprisingly, three hours had already passed and their conversation had not stopped once. There hadn't been any of those first date awkward silences. Everything had been perfect and that was exactly what Grissom needed.

When he´d brought Susan home afterwards, he´d even considered kissing her there and then, just to see if he could, but had in the end he had decided it would be a bit too forward. So he´d just kissed her on the cheek and told her he´d had a wonderful time. And that was that. It had been wonderful and it had been right.

He was happy, he really was, but why was there still this nagging feeling that Susan just couldn´t be The One, because The One lived far away from him with his child and had probably already moved on without him.

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_We can´t do that, it is never going to work..._Katie´s thoughts ran wild as she lay in bed that evening, thinking about what Hailey had proposed for them to do.

I can´t live with Dad, I don´t know anything about him, it´s just not going to work...

When Hailey had first mentioned her plan Katie thought she was crazy. Completely and utterly crazy. She didn´t know anything about living with their Mom either. They would have to go to school. Not for long, the summer holidays were fast apporaching, but still...Louisa would never allow for them to do that. Driving back, Katie hadn´t told her about Hailey´s proposal. She´d only talked about her Dad and the other things her sister had told her. It was strange. The girls barely knew each other, but it was like they´d known each other for a long time already. Katie felt completely comfortable in Hailey´s presence and that was obviously a mutual feeling.

"Hey sweetie. I´m home." Sara knocked on Katie´s door softly. "I already sent Lou home, she fell asleep on the couch."

"Okay." Katie answered, tight-lipped. She was still disappointed in her mother. How could she not have told her about Hailey How could she have lied to her all these years...

"How was your day? What did you do?" Sara asked, sitting down on the edge of Katie´s small bed.

"We went to the park."

"And?"

"We had ice-cream."

"Oh." Sara was suprised by her daughter´s short answers. Was something wrong?

"Are you angry with me?" She asked. Katie shook her head. "Then what´s wrong."

_I tell you what´s wrong. You didn't tell me I had a sister. I don´t know my dad, you are always at work..._Katie wanted to scream. Instead she just turned around, facing the bug-printed wall.

"Nothing. I´m just really tired." She answered quietly.

"You sure?"

As Katie didn´t answer Sara leaned down and placed a kiss, first on her cheek and then on her forehead.

"I´m gonna stay up for a while. Call if you need anything" She whispered, getting up and leaving the room quietly. What was wrong with her daughter?

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"Griss, there´s a lady waiting for you at the front desk." Warrick said, passing Grissom´s office.

Grissom looked up from the pile of paperwork he was just trying to finish of.

"Who is it?"

"Don´t know, Susan something." Warrick shrugged, he hadn´t seen the woman before, but she seemed very pretty and if he didn't usually know better, he could have bet she had something to do with Grissom´s good mood today.

Grissom closed the file he´d been working on, a confused expression on his face, and went down to reception to meet her. Why had Susan come to visit him at work? As he approached her she smiled at him widely, as she always seemed to do and it made him smile too.

"Hey Gil, did I interrupt you?"

"Nah, it´s okay, I was just doing paperwork, nothing special. What can I do for you?" He asked, his polite manner kicking in again.

"I was just around the corner for a business meeting and wanted to ask if you´d like to come to my place for dinner tonight."

"Sure, why not? That´d be great." His stomach gave a small flutter. She'd obviously enjoyed their date just as much as he had and now she wanted a second one. And not just in a restaurant, but at her place.

"You do eat meat? Don´t you?" Susan asked, unsure of herself.

"Yeah, sure." It touched Grissom that she´d thought about these things. _If I´d just been that considerate years ago._

"Good, I just noticed that you didn´t buy any meat when we met at the supermarket and at the restaurant you ate something vegetarian too, so..."

"Just an old habit." Grissom answered quickly. He´d reduced his meat consumption after he and Sara had moved in together and when they were eating out they had shared their meals most of the time, so he'd get something vegetarian too. Old habits obviously die hard.

"Good, that´s settled then. You want to come around at six?"

Grissom only nodded, once again preoccupied with his thoughts about a certain vegetarian, but Susan didn´t seem to notice and just smiled at him again.

"Great, see you tonight." She waved as she made her way outside and even though every male on the planet would probably have used the occasion to check her back out, Grissom´s mind didn´t even register her leaving figure.

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"No hiding this time Grissom. Tell us." Nick spoke up as Grissom entered the breakroom a few minutes later.

"There´s nothing to tell." Grissom waved him off as he made his way over to the coffee machine, three pairs of eyes following his movements.

"Oh come on, that hot lady is asking for you at front desk and you´ve been walking around with a smile on your face for a few days now." Catherine quipped, pushing back the salad she had been eating, "There must be something you are not telling us."

Grissom smirked to himself. He´d never get used to the nosiness of his co-workers but it was somehow comforting to know that his love life seemed to be interesting enough to ask about.

"Just a woman I met at the supermarket. That´s it." He answered quietly, filling a cup with coffee and adding sugar and milk.

"And I take it the two of you are dating?" Catherine spoke up again. She seemed to be the only one who could actually make Grissom talk.

"Yes." He answered shortly.

"So..."

"So nothing, that´s it. We´ve only just met." He couldn´t quiet believe he was actually confiding in his colleagues who were all listening attentively.

"Oh come on, what´s her name? How old is she? Does she have children?"

"Susan, 39 and no." It was fun to watch Catherine roll her eyes exaggeratedly.

"Did she already get in your pants?"

This question shouldn´t have surprised him coming from Catherine but it did. So with a quick look toward her, he up-and-left the room hurriedly. No he would not discuss his sex life- or rather the lack of it- in the breakroom.

"Grissom." Catherine called after him and he turned around, knowing she had just been teasing him.

"I´m happy for you."

TBC

**A/N2:** As always reviews are very appreciated!


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